Capitalizing on the record-breaking release of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," Warner Brothers has sold the basic cable and broadcast television rights for the film, and the next in the Harry Potter series, to the Walt Disney Company in a deal worth at least $130 million, the companies said last night.
The chase was the highest-rated program of the year for basic cable, and the coverage earned CNN its highest ratings since the 1991 confirmation hearings for Justice Clarence Thomas.
By the end of the decade, nearly 60 percent of American homes were wired for basic cable, and almost half of those were receiving some premium channels.
Other Revolution investors include the Fox Entertainment Group, controlled by the News Corporation, which bought the rights to show Revolution films on network television and basic cable for $25 million for a number of years, and Starz Encore, a subsidiary of Liberty Media which paid $150 million for the domestic pay-television rights to Revolution films.
William Harris, a Waterbury resident, had been paying Comcast for basic cable service and Direct TV for premium stations.
As a senior citizen, Mary Clifford used to pay $11.40 a month for basic cable service and another $13 for local telephone service.
Proposals pending in both the House and the Senate would regulate prices for basic cable service and make it more difficult for cable system operators to lock up exclusive distribution agreements for the most popular programming.
"First the consumer is asked to pay $60 for the basic cable service and then it's another $40 for the platinum package, and they're selling Showtime and Starz in with us".
The bigger broadcast and basic cable networks accounted for the rest of the time.
Let's say $140 of that is for broadband (50 megabits downstream) and basic cable, so add $8 for Netflix and $50 for Apple TV recent movies and shows.
